This was to be a new experience, I thought. We walked down a broad corridor, passing well-dressed courtiers, pretty serving girls, and swaggering soldiers. Down a side corridor I caught a glimpse of some men dressed in wildly colorful robes and headdresses whom I took to be Magi, having seen a few on my trip to Babylon with Antipater. The Magi were engaged in a spirited debate, but I was able to catch only a few words of Persian. I tried to get a good look at every face we passed. Was it possible that Antipater might not be at the house of Eutropius, but here in the royal palace, summoned for a dinner or some other function? And would I know him if I saw him? During our journey he had several times donned disguises, putting on putty noses, stuffing his cheeks, and wearing wigs. Might he be incognito even here, in the court of the man whom he had served, and perhaps still served, as a spy? I saw a number of gray heads and stooped elders and tried to get a good look a them, but none appeared to be Antipater.
